Contrasting models of parity-mode evolution in squamate reptiles

R Alexander Pyron; Frank T Burbrink

doi:10.1002/jez.b.22593

Contrasting models of parity-mode evolution in squamate reptiles

J Exp Zool B Mol Dev Evol. 2015 Sep;324(6):467-72. doi: 10.1002/jez.b.22593. Epub 2015 Feb 24.

Authors

R Alexander Pyron¹, Frank T Burbrink^{2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biological Sciences, The George Washington University, Washington, DC.
² Department of Biology, The Graduate School and University Center, The City University of New York, New York, New York.
³ Department of Biology, The College of Staten Island, The City University of New York, New York, New York.

PMID: 25712034
DOI: 10.1002/jez.b.22593

Abstract

Recent analyses using large-scale phylogenies suggest a radically different history for the evolution of live birth and egg laying in squamate reptiles (lizards and snakes) than traditionally understood. What is the ancestral condition for lizards and snakes? How frequently does live bearing evolve in egg-laying lineages? Can the eggshell ever re-evolve in live-bearing lineages? Answering these fundamental questions about the evolution of key physiological processes will require additional data from genomic, developmental, and fossil data.

Publication types

Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

Animals
Biological Evolution*
Egg Shell*
Female
Lizards / genetics*
Oviparity*
Snakes / genetics*
Viviparity, Nonmammalian*